I think I love you

Book number in 5 the 100+ Reading Challenge

I think I love you
by Allison Pearson

Outer back cover: (I have blanked some of this out because I think it gave away too much, if you want to read it anyway, just highlight the bit between the **) 1974. Thirteen-year-old Petra and her best friend Sharon are desperate to win a competition to meet their teen idol. 
Meanwhile Bill is unhappy in his job, ghostwriting the fanzine of the man so adored by the girls - and slightly unnerved by the extreme emotions of some of the fans.
Fast forward to 1998. Petra is pushing forty and on the brink of divorce. *While cleaning out her mother's wardrobe she finds a letter declaring her the winner of the competition she and Sharon had agonized over decades ago.
So, twenty-four years after entering the competition the girls claim their prize and are flown out for an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas to meet their hero at last. Bill, now the magazine's publisher, flies out with them...*

The first half of the book is set in 1974. Reading about 13-year-old Petra reminds me of my own teen crush. I can also relate to Petra, even though there are many years between us. I think Pearson has captured the emotions and thoughts of a 13-year-old girl very well. Reading about the 1974 thoughts and days of Bill is very funny. It was funny to read what he thought of Cassidy, ghostwriting as David Cassidy, and the letters that fans wrote him, thinking he was Cassidy.

In the second half of the book, it's very interesting to read about how the characters have changed, but at the same time not. The start of 1998 part was actually my favorite part of the book. Petra's thought and feelings after loosing her parents felt very real. I can't relate to that as both my parents are alive, but it was so well written that I almost started crying.

I didn't actually know that David Cassidy is a real person until I was about half-way in the book, and I though I should just look him up to check. But it didn't really matter that much, all it mean when I found out was that some of the events were real. I read the book in two sittings, 1974 one day, and 1998 the other, it was practically impossible to put down.

I think this was a good book, funny and a little bit of romance, just my cup of tea. Slightly confused at one word at the end of the book though, which annoys me because I don't know if it means what I think it means or not, but either way it's extremely confusing, and irritating. It also made me want to visit Wales, sadly I did not go there while I lived in England...